Reps committee asks Jonathan to handover NITEL to preferred bidder (http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9025:reps-committee-asks-jonathan-to-handover-nitel-to-preferred-bidder-&catid=85:national&Itemid=340)
House of Representatives on Thursday urged Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to expedite action on the handing over of Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Nigeria Mobile Telecommunications (Mtel) to New Generation, the preferred bidder of the company. New Generation Telecoms consortium won the bid with the offer of $2.5 billion, followed by Omen International Limited (BVI) as reserved bidder with $956.98 million; Brymedia Consortium offered $551 million while AFZI/Spectrum Consortium and MTN Nigeria Communications offered $25 million for SAT-3 only.Meanwhile, Christopher Anyanwu, BPE director-general, disclosed that President Umaru Yar'Adua had earlier warned him to be steadfast, ensure transparency and not succumb to pressure from any quarters in the course of privatising NITEL and Mtel. Abbas Braimoh, acting chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation in a chat with BusinessDay also disclosed plans to conduct an investigative public hearing into the non-utilisation of the sum of N9 billion approved by the National Assembly in the second supplementary budget for the payment of outstanding salaries and allowances of workers. He noted that over 100 NITEL workers have so far lost their lives due to delay in payment of their terminal benefits by the liquidator while the aggrieved workers have at several times protested and barricaded the office of BPE over the non-payment of their entitlements. Braimoh, who expressed concern over the controversies surrounding the privatisation exercise few days after the conclusion of the bidding exercise and the delay in the handing over of the companies by National Council on Privatisation (NCP) headed by the acting president, expressed confidence in the exercise and the price offered by the investor. The lawmaker, who warned against further delay, noted that the House will not condone further delay of the exercise, noting that such situation may frustrate the process, just as he tasked the investor to adhere with the terms of the agreement by paying 30 percent of the bid price within 10 working days or forfeit the company to the reserved bidder. Other members of the committee who spoke on the crisis surrounding the privatisation process, including Patrick Obayagbon; Chinedu Eluemuno and Abdullahi Farouk, chairman, House Committee on Urban Development, warned the Bureau to shun pressure from various quarters on the privatisation exercise.
Source: Businessday :: News you can trust (http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage)